Floral display rack



y 14, 1942- H. c. ROBINSON ETAL 2,239,729

FLORAL DISPLAY RACK Filed Aug. 1, 1940 Patented July 14, 1942 FLOR-ALDISPLAY RACK Harry C. Robinson Chattanooga, Tenn and Thomas F.. Challis,assignors to American I Manufacturing Company,

Chattanooga, Tenn.,

a corporation of Tennessee Application August 1, 1940, Serial No.349,204

5 Claims. This invention relates'to foldable display racks particularlyadapted .for floral wreaths :and the like, and an object'of the same isto at a low cost and which may be readily set up for use and alsocollapsed into a compact bundle for shipment and storage andis soconstructed as to permit a display, such as a wreath or plaque, to beeasily hung upon and removed from the rack.

Another object of the invention is to provide a foldable floral displayrack embodying a minimum number of parts, light in weight, which areeasily and economically manufactured or fabricated from wire or rodstock but which at the same time when set up result in a relativelystrong and sturdy construction, the rack being in the main hidden by thedisplay or thrown well in the background by the latter,

Th foregoing and other objects and advantages will become apparent inview of the following description taken in conjunction with the drawing,wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a floral display rack embodying thefeatures of the present invention, the rack being set up for use withthe display frame or plaque shown partly removed in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the rack in collapsedposition.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the rack comprises an easel made upof front legs l and Ill which are preferably made of a single piece ofwire or rod stock bent in the form of an inverted V or U; and a rear legI I which is preferably made of a separate piece of wire or rod stockdoubled over at its upper end around the crotch of the legs l0 and ID,as indicated at 12, and terminating in an upwardly bent hook it. Areinforcing rod l4 cross connects the front legs and has its oppositeends bent around and secured to said legs. The bent portion between theshank of the hook and the upper end of the rear leg constitutes apivoting eye or hinge for the legs of the rack.

The front and rear legs at their lower extremities are collapsiblyconnected by means of a latch member l5 preferably made of a singlepiece of relatively thin wire of generally triangular shape, the wire atits rear end being twisted 1 will be noted that the rear the looped eyelBof the latch member 14 is bent .ownwardly. By bending the eye in thismanner, when the latch member reaches an approx imate horizontalposition with the legs fully spread, the'eye is caused to clutch or gripthe rear leg I l holding the legs in spread relation on a substantiallyequal three-point'contact or footing. Also, this bent shape permits therear leg to fold compactly with respect to the front legs when the easelis collapsed.

A display frame or plaque, generally indicated at IT, is provided inconjunction with the easel and may be of varying shapes in accordancewith the type of display. As here shown, the display frame or plaquecomprises an outer frame member Ha and a series of cross-connecting rodsllb. While this frame may be given any desired shape, there are twofeatures common to each frame, namely, a hanger l8 provided by giving aninverted U-bend to one of the cross bars I11), and a pair of oppositelydisposed inturned hooks l9 formed on lateral extensions of another ofsaid cross bars.

When the easel is unfolded and set up as shown in Fig. 1, the hanger I8engages over the hook l3, while the hooks l9 engage over and grip thefront legs l0 and Ill. The ease with which the plaque may be placed onthe easel will be obvious, the hooks l9 being guided downwardly on thefront legs until the hanger l8 engages the hook l3. When this point isreached, the hooks I9 clutch or grip the front legs l0 and I0 and notonly hold the display frame or plaque firmly in position but reinforcethe legs of the easel. It leg of the easel is somewhat shorter than thefront legs to cause the easel to tilt rearwardly when set up.

The rack is capable of being manufactured with marked ease and at a lowcost.

It will be understood that certain limited changes in construction anddesign may be adopted without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A display rack comprising an easel or stand having a hook thereon forsupporting a floral display or the like and a pair of resilient membersextending divergently below said hook, a removable frame or plaque forthe display, said frame having a suspension member adapted to engagesaid hook and means adapted to engage and clutch said divergent memberswhen the suspension member reaches engaged position with respect to thehook.

2. A display rack comprising an easel or stand having a pair of frontlegs and a rear leg, a hook at the upper extremity of the rack, saidfront legs extending divergently below said hook, a removably mountedframe or plaque for a floral piece or the like, said frame having asuspension portion adapted to engage said hook and fixed oppositelydisposed hook members so located with respect to said portion as toengage and clutch said divergent front legs when the frame or plaque islowered onto and reaches engaged position with respect to said hook.

3. A display rack comprising an easel or stand having a pair of frontlegs formed of wire or rod stock and a rear leg, the rear connected tothe front legs at the upper extremity of the easel and together with thefront legs forming a tripod, the front legs being arranged insubstantially the form of an inverted V and having a hook within theregion of the crotch of the V, a removable display frame or plaqueformed of wire and having a suspending portion adapted to'engage saidhookand a pair of fixed oppositely disposed hook members spaced suchdistance from the suspending portion as to engage the front legs whenthe suspension member is lowered onto and reaches engaged position withrespect to said hook.

4. A display rack comprising a tripod having a pair of front legs formedof a single piece of wire or rod stock bent substantially in the form ofan leg being pivotally inverted U or V and a rear leg having its upperextremity bent around the crotch of the U or V to provide a pivotal orhinge connection and terminating in a reversely bent free end portiondefining a hook for hanging a floral or other display, and a removablewire frame or plaque on which a floral display may be mounted, said wireframe having a cross member formed with a substantially inverted Ushaped portion adapted to engage said hook and a pair of oppositelydisposed hooks spaced such distance from said portion as to clutch thedivergent front legs of the rack when the wire frame is lowered intosuspended position on said hook.

5. A display rack comprising a stand or easel having a pair of divergentmembers and a suspension hook within the upper region of said member-s,a removable plaque on which a floral display may be mounted, said plaquehaving a suspension member adapted for engagement with said hook whenthe plaque is lowered into position thereon, said plaque also having apair of fixed oppositely disposed hooks spaced such distance from saidsuspension member as to clutch the divergent members of the stand whenthe plaque is lowered into suspended position on said hook and hold theplaque against displacement and also brace said divergent members.

HARRY C. ROBINSON. THOMAS F. CHALLIS.

